Intel NUCs will have Haswell inside

Intel's NUC, or Next Unit of Computing, measures approximately 4″ x 4″ x 1.5″ and is currently powered by a wide range of Ivy Bridge processors.

However, the uber mini-PCs are set to get an upgrade next month with newer Haswell chips, which will offer a long-awaited performance boost.

As Liliputing's Brad Linder notes, Haswell processors consume less power and boast improved CPU/graphics horsepower compared to their Ivy Bridge counterparts. Meaning, the Haswell silicon will likely generate less heat, which should be very convenient for systems running on passive cooling instead of fans.

According to VR-Zone, the new systems are packed into a revamped case design and offer more USB 3.0 ports than their predecessors. And while PCs based on the NUC paradigm are typically equipped with mPCIe slots for solid state storage, the new Haswell motherboards are fitted with a SATA connector to accommodate traditional hard drives, form factor allowing.

Readers interested in Intel's NUC may also want to check out the Gigabyte Brix, which measures approximately 4.5″ x 4.2″ x 1.2″. Future iterations of the device are expected to offer support for either an AMD Kabini SoC or Intel Haswell chip (Core i3 - Core i7), along with 16GB of RAM and an mSATA SSD.

Specifically, the industry heavyweight will likely soon be offering models equipped with the E1-2100, E1-2500 or E2-3000 dual-core chips, or an A4-5000 quad-core chip.